Mediterranean Diet & Greek Herbs
Herbs are an integral part of both the traditional Greek diet and the broader Mediterranean Diet. They have been lauded for their medicinal use since antiquity, if not longer. In Greece, herbs aren’t used just to flavor food; they are used as folk medicine, and their importance is now corroborated by science.
Mykonos Food Traditions
Mykonos, with its international aura and jetsetter infamy, is still home to some of the oldest traditional foods in the Aegean. Pork, stinky cheeses, and honey pies are just some of this island’s many food treasures.
The Earth-Friendly Mediterranean Diet
Discover why the Mediterranean Diet is the best diet for a healthy planet, as well as for a sound mind and body. The plant-forward deliciousness of Greek-Mediterranean food will convince you that we can live by plants alone! Or, at least, with much less red meat in our lives. Greek cuisine, indeed, boasts one of the most plant-friendly diets on earth, with more vegetarian main courses than any other culinary tradition in the Mediterranean.
Olives-superfood & Pantry Workhorse
Like so many around the world, I’m sheltering from this pandemic at home and cooking simple meals that nourish me and my family, physically and emotionally. I’m visiting my cupboards frequently as we make fewer trips to the store, and I’m reminded of what a powerful culinary tool a well-stocked pantry can be. Today, I wanted to focus on one transformative ingredient, both in terms of flavor and nutrition—olives.
The Other “C” Word…is Cooking
The foods we consume affect our physical and emotional health and wellbeing, but so does the actual act of cooking, which I turn to and highly recommend in good times and hard times. Take a look at three of the Mediterranean Diet’s most delicious and healthful ingredients, good for our bodies and minds!
Women in the Greek Kitchen – A Historical Perspective
The kitchen and the provision of food have traditionally been women’s domaine in Greece, the only place they were able to exercise power. Read this interesting essay by guest blogger and Athens by Fork guide Finiki Papadopoulou.
Tahini: A Superfood Condiment
On Monday, March 2, Orthodox Lent begins. Tahini, a paste made from sesame seeds, is an important part of the food traditions today but throughout the 40-day fasting period, as well. It is used in lieu of olive oil and to some extent in lieu of dairy, as it is one of the most calcium-rich foods on the planet. In the U.S. tahini is mostly an afterthought—we know it mainly for its use in hummus. But this small (but mighty) sesame seed packs such an amazing nutritional punch that it’s worth a starring role on our table.
A Whiff of Spring: The Greek Wine Moschofilero
Greek whites run the gamut from bone dry to floral and highly aromatic. Discover one of Greece’s most aromatic grapes in this short introduction to Moschofilero, which translates literally as “aromatic leaf.”
Less is More in Laconia
The flavors of Laconia are pared down and intense, characterized by health-giving simplicity transported on a constant flow of the region’s famed emerald green olive oil.
Glossary of Edible Greens
In Greece, people eat well over 300 edible wild plants, many of them weeds! We call them horta and they are nutritional bombshells, bursting with vitamins, minerals and all sorts of other great things. Today, in one of the main Greek papers, I read about the cookbook of recipes from Nazi-Occupied Greece, a time when […]
How to cook Greens
How to cook Greens (Horta) While it might seem odd to a non-Greek cook to boil greens until they are extremely soft, this is the way Greeks like to eat them. In Greek cooking, all sorts of greens, wild and cultivated, sweet and bitter, are boiled, typically in a big pot filled with salted water […]
Horta Greens: A Glossary of Edible Wild Greens
Around this time of the year, I start to tally up the excesses of the holidays. Too much bread, too many sweets, cheeses, meat etc. Most of us get the picture. I also start to turn to the one thing that makes me feel really good when I eat it: greens. Called horta in Greek, […]